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The Lakeside

Down the valley can be seen the crinkled ridges of Causey Pike and Cat Bells, whilst over the lake lie Barf and Seat How.

Many species of wild duck and goose live on the lake, and it is an important wintering area for many more. Rare ospreys nest in the woods across Bassenthwaite Lake and can be watched from dedicated viewpoints between April and August.

The boathouse is used by the Calvert Trust, founded nearby in 1974 to provide outdoor pursuits for people with disabilities and it is still the world leader in this field.

The simple open-air theatre was constructed in 1974 for the reading of 'Morte d'Arthur' to the Tennyson Society at the place where it is thought that Tennyson composed much of the poem.

On top of the memorial lectern are engraved the lines telling how Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur back to the Lady of the Lake. Canon Rawnsley, founder of the National Trust, wrote: 'Many a time as I have paced the dewy pebbles of Bassenthwaite Lake in thought, and heard the ripple washing in the reeds or seen the water brighten to the moon, I have felt that in the writing and rewriting of that noble passage that tells of the passing of Arthur, the poet may have almost unconsciously woven into his verse the calm and sounds, the sight and scene of beautiful Mirehouse'.